Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-10-22
CALIFORNIA FRUITS.
THEIR MARKET AND CONSUME
TON AT THE EAST.
A Review of the Subject from an
Eastern Standpoint-Th
Outlook-Etc.
N. Y. Herald, September 2Is;.l

York. Americans of all classes devour
fruit in quantity perfectly astonishing to
the benighted strangers who come here
from foreign lands.
The first great fact to strike anyone in
terested in the city's fruit trade of to-day
is the immense increase in the amount Of
fruit received here from California. As
late as last year this fruit did not come
here at all, except in small packages by
express from Chicago. Now the enormous,
magnificently-appearing peaches and pears
are to be found with the domestic fruit
upon ever corner stand.
Why this change? Because at the be-
ginning of the present summer the fruit
growers belonging to the California Fruit
Union found that immense quantities of
their best fruit were rotting upon the trees
for lack of market Something had to be
done, and that at once. 1t was no longer
a question of getting good prices; ii was Il
question of selling at any price rather than
submit to the dead loss of decay.
Accordingly the California growers en-
gagged agents in this city ard began send
ing East train consisting Of ten carloads
not come here; some went to Boston, Phil
adelphia, Baltimore and other cities, but
two or three carloads have come regularly
during the summer to New York.
All the local firms shook their heads at
the new departure.
They will soon discover that they can't
compete with the domestic trade" said one
of the home merchants.
But the agents were not discouraged.
The fruit arrived in good condition except
in the hottest July weather, when some of
the peaches and apricots were badly
bruised and rotten. The splendid appear
ance Of the fruit was another point in its
favor, everybody who wished to make Il
show upon the dinner table being sure to
purchase it. The warm climate of Califor-
MIA, of course, enabled the growers to send
their produce to the Eastern market before
the domestic fruits were fairly ready for
distribution.
But the daily through fruit trains were
no sooner started than difficulty was dis
covered which threatened to play havoc
with the prospective profits. This was
that bugbcar to so many professions, the
insteratate commerce law. The freight
rates under it were so large that the ne
cessity for remedial measures became APP
parent. Fortunately for the California
trade, q way was discovered which has con-
tinued to work satisfactorily. The way
is this: The fruit is shipped from Sacra-
mento TO Chicago as freight. From Chi
cago to New York it is carried in the same
cars and disturbed in no way, but it is sent
by express-not as freight. The excessive
freight charges are in this way avoided,
and the freight rates are now only one
third as great as they had been before this
season.
So far forty-fve carloads OF California
fruit have been received here this summer
by the agents of the Union, and there are
all the time more on the way. 1t takes
six days and a half for the Journey over
land, and the sending is arranged so that
the fruit may not arrive on Saturday or
Sunday, when it would have to wait day
or two before it could be sold
All the fruit coming from the Union
growers is disposed of at auction, and the
sale usually takes place upon the day of its
arrival here.
A visit on a morning when a big load of
California fruit is on sale, is an interesting
experience. The fruit is all spread out in
boxes before the auctioneer's stand Be-
fore the sale begins the fruit dealers who
have come to buy go about each box, ex-
aimining the condition and quality OF the
fruit. Each separate pear, peach ounce or
apricot is wrapped in Il paper and is care
fully guarded from bruising. The packers,
however, occasionally make mistakes and
put two different kinds OF peaches in the
same lot. The freestones are csnsid-
cred better than the "clings," and dealers
do not like to have them mixed. Some of
the pears arriving now are in Il capital
condition for immediate consumption, but
are not green enough to admit of being
kept for any length of time.
The Tokay grapes, which are now begin
ming to arrive from California, will con-
tinue to come up to the middle of October.
They are splendid fruit, and come to
market in time to compete with the Jer-
sey, up river and Western New York fruit.
The California crop this year is not con-
sidered Il large one, but there is plenty for
everybody, and the acknowledged supe-
riority of this grape is sure to give it a
large sale.
The grapes, like the other fruit, come in
open ventilated cars, and arrive in excel
lent condition. They will soon be the only
fruit arriving from California, as the season
for the other fruits is drawing quickly to a
close.
On the whole, the California Union is
delighted with the results of It's expert
ment of New York agency, and they in
tend to keep 1t up next summer, with
every prospect of doing still more salts
factory business.
Another great branch of the fruit trade
is the Mediterranean business. This goes
almost exclusively through the hands OF
the auctioneer. The season for the Al
meria, or, as they are commonly called.
Malaga grapes, will soon begin, but many
dealers have been obliged to send word to
keep back these grapes, in order that they
may not fall upon an already overstocked
market.
Last year over 10000 barrels were re-
ceived, and this year the crop has been so
fine that there is every prospect for the ar
rival of still larger number. The months
of October, November and December are
the great ones for this trade
A curious fact of the trade this year has
been the unparalleled flow of lemons from
the Mediterranean. Dealers have written
and rewritten to stop them, but until re-
Gently they kept arriving in vast numbers.
Last month alone no less than 100000
boxes of lemons arrived from the island of
Sicily, and when it is remembered that
there are in | cases $50 lemons to a box,
the decentralization of the market is not
hard to account for.
The lemon season has pretty well fallen
through by this time. But what are not
lemons used for?
As gentleman said the other day Go
into any uptown restaurant and order din.
ner. The first thing to be brought in is .
plate of oysters and clans. There is a
good half lemon to squeeze upon them
Then comes soup, and there is almost al
ways slice of lemon floating in it. Next
fish-and the chef has generally decorated
this dish with pieces of lemon. Entrees
meats, ETC., follow, and nearly all have
lemon with them somewhere, and wher
you are done the waiter brings you finger
bowl with pieces of lemon floating in the
water
Last year fully three million boxes O
lemons and oranges arrived from the Med
iterrauean and found consumers in Dlept,